ainiṁiġe bó. A cow is an animal, &c.; or we lay stress on what the person or thing is at the time being, without any thought that he has become what he, or it, is. For instance, a father, enumerating to a friend the various positions in life of his children, may say, Is ceannuiḋe Seumas, is sagart Seaġán, agus is fear dliġe Miċeál: James is a merchant, John a priest, and Michael is a lawyer. He should not use tá in such a case, as he considers simply what each is at the time being. When tá is used we convey the idea that the person or thing has become what he (or it) is, and that he (or it) was not always so. Suppose a father is telling what professions his sons have adopted, he should say, tá Seumas ’na ceannuiḋe, &c. In such constructions the verb tá must be followed by the preposition i or a, and a suitable possessive adjective.
(c) The difference between tá and is is well exemplified by the two sentences is fear é and tá sé ’na ḟear, both meaning “He is a man.” If we see a figure approach us in the dark, and after looking closely at it we discover it to be a man, our correct phraseology would then be, is fear é. But when we say tá sé ’na ḟear we convey a very different idea. We mean that the person of whom we are speaking is no longer a boy, he has now reached manhood. If anyone were speaking to you of a person as if he were a mere boy, and you wished to correct him, you should use the phrase tá sé ’na ḟear.
